Accident leaves big rig hanging from 610 Loop, closes 59

Emergency crews rescue the driver after his big-rig plunged off an overpass onto the Eastex Freeway about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials initially reported that the driver had died, but later determined he sustained non-life-threatening injuries. less

Emergency crews rescue the driver after his big-rig plunged off an overpass onto the Eastex Freeway about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials initially reported that the driver had died, but later determined he ... more

Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle

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Emergency crews rescue the driver after his big-rig plunged off an overpass onto the Eastex Freeway about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials initially reported that the driver had died, but later determined he sustained non-life-threatening injuries. less

Emergency crews rescue the driver after his big-rig plunged off an overpass onto the Eastex Freeway about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officials initially reported that the driver had died, but later determined he ... more

Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle

Accident leaves big rig hanging from 610 Loop, closes 59

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U.S. 59 northbound has finally reopened seven hours after a big rig fell from the Eastex Freeway onto the roadway below, jamming traffic and sending its driver to the hospital.

TranStar spokesperson Dinah Massie said northbound 59 has finally reopened, but a closure of the Loop 610 westbound exit remains as crews attempt to repair road damage caused by the accident. The eastbound ramp was unaffected.

The single-vehicle wreck happened about 10:30 a.m. on the outbound Eastex Freeway near the North Loop, when a truck fell off the overpass, Massie said.

Clean-up crews discovered additional damage on the overpass guard rail and found that when the truck fell it damaged the shoulder of the ramp to Interstate 610.

Officials said the trucker had been traveling northbound when he drove onto a ramp to enter the westbound North Loop. For some reason, the truck veered out of the lane and ran along the guardrail for 250 feet before tumbling over the side, Massie said.

The truck dangled briefly from the ramp before falling 46 feet to the freeway below. No other vehicles were hit.

The driver was injured but was able to talk to the responders extricating him from the cab, according to a Texas Department of Transportation representative on the scene, Massie said. The driver was taken to an area hospital and is expected to survive, officials said.

It took hours for crews to remove the truck and its load of metal or machinery. There was also some damage to the concrete barrier separating the northbound and southbound lanes, which had to be repaired, Massie said.

It's unclear what led to the crash, which snarled traffic for miles.

The southbound side, where one lane and the shoulder had been affected, reopened at 4:20 p.m.